Improvement in couplings for underground-telegraph lines



Y T. J.` MGTIGHE.

Coupling for Underground Telegraph-Lines.

No. 220,936. Patented Oct. 28, |879.

N. PETERS. PHQTOL\TNOGRAFHEH. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

THOMAS J. MGTIGI'IE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COUPLINGS FOR Specification forn'iing part of Letters Patent To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tnonms J. McTiGun, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Couplings for Undergrou11d-Telegraph Lines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it-pertains to make and use it, referel'lce being had to the accom pan yin g drawings, which form part of this specification, in which- Figure is a perspective of onc-halfof coupling; Fig. 2, a front view of same; Fig. 3, a longitudinal vertical section of a joint com plete; Fig. 4, a plan-section of Fig. 3 on line a* x. Figs. 5 and 6 are front views of ineditications. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of ineditication; Fig. 8, details of. same. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of a modification, and Fig. 10, section y y, of same. Fig. ll shows how the joint may be soldered. Fig. l2 illustrates my mode of tapping a line.

My invention relates to a coupling for the different sections or lengths ot' the so-called underground-telegraph lines]7 which generally consist of two or more wires incased in an insulating envelope, serving at thesame time as a coupling for any sort of electrical conductorcontaining a number -of lines which it is desired shall be insulated one from the other at the joint.

The invention consists, broadly, in inclosing the ends of the sections in metallic sleeves having coupling-fiangcs and means for securing the tian ges together, the wires being suitably connected inside, and it further consists in the construction and combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the invention in one of its simplest forms.

A designates the body of incased lines, a a', tbc., being the wires. To simplify my description, I will state that A may be of any material or form whatever, and will be referred to throughout lthis specification as simply the protector.

rlhe wires c are left projecting slightly be yond the ends of the lengths of protector A, in order to allow of the fittings being placed to them. In the figures referred to, wires o UNDERGROUND-TELEGRAPH LINES.

No. 220,936, dated October 25, 187i); application tiled July 2l, 1879.

are passed through a block, B, of insulating material, such as hard rubber, pa radine-soaked wood, glass, leatheroid, vulcanized fiber, or other suitable material possessing good insulating qualities. The protrinling ends of the wires c are then bent down against the outer faces ot the respective blocks B B', so that when the two blocks are lnioughttogether the wires a a will come in contact, wires a a also, and so on, the wires being bentin opposite directions when the number and arrangement demand it. Then the two blocks are powerfully :forced together by any suitable means. As one such means I propose the flanged sleeves C G', which embrace the protector A, and incloseinsulating and compression blocks B B, and are drawn powerfully together by bolts or keys or other suitable means.

After coupling is completed the entirejoint is surrounded with parafiine, pitch, resin, sulphur, or other suitable insulating material, so as to prevent the access to the joint of water, moisture, or air, the first two ot' which might destroy or lessen the insulation after a time, and the last might oxidize the wires and abate the conductivity of the contact. The metal sleeves C, while thus serving to force the wires together, also serve to stitfen the line, since they embrace the protector for a shortdistance each sidepfrom the joint.

By this bending of the wires out of line I can obtain any desired amount of surface-contact, since I can make the wires touch over a greater or less length, so that by making the contact long enough it becomes equivalent to the full section of the wire. The same result is accomplished by my modilied form, as in Figs. 7 and S. In this the wires c are bent out of line, as before; but instead of meeting edge to edge, a doubleconcave strip of conducting material, fi, is inserted between the ends so arranged. For convenience in setting I make the strips t' with a pin, fi', which fits in a hole made in the block B.

In coupling two sections on this plan, after the wires are bent on one section the strips 11 are set on that section and the other brought against it. rlhe convened wires then lie in the concavcd sides of the strips, and a very perfeet contact secured by pressing the blocks B, as before.

Another modification is shown by Figs. 9

and l0. Here, again, the wires a are bent out of line somewhat, though to a less deg'ree than before. Previous to placing the sections together a biconical or wedge-shaped block, G, of insulating material, and having grooved strips m of conducting metal longitudinally set in it, is placed between the sections. The wires e are then arranged to lie in the grooves of strips m, as shown, the wires not comingin contact with each other, but with the strips. Then an annular block, H, of insulating niaterial, is passed up the incline, and forced against the wires powerfully by the metal sleeves I, which are substantially the saine as before described.

The contact thus secured is excellent and reliable, though the construction may be somewhat more expensive than the iirstforin shown. It can be made so as not to project inconveniently, and for this reason, under some conditions of surroumlings, may be found more desirable.

The block G may be round, square, or other shape in cross-section, and in any shape will act in the same way. 0f course the annular block and sleeve would correspond in shape.

Besides the simple pressure contact I propose in some cases to solder the wii'es together, as shown by Fig. l1; or, instead of soldering, in places where it may be found practicable the ends may be amalgamated together by a globule of mercury.

Should it be desired to switch a wire out for a local station, the coupling' need only be loosened somewhat, as in Fig. l2, the strips 'i inserted between all the wires but those forming the line to be switched. Then a plug, a, having its body of insulating material and metal` lic strips on its sides connecting with liliewires o p, is inserted between said wires to be switched, after which the coupling is tightened up, and the work is done. Of course the stri ps i and the plug' n would be of a given uniform Width.

The plug n would forni an admirable tcmporary tapping device for testing after the location of a iiaw or break, should such occur.

The coupling in any of its forms may be made as shown for a straight line, or may be beveled or mitered for a turn or right angle, thus making the joint as good at a street co1'- ner or a dip under a culvert as upon a straight run.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I do not confine myself to the employment of any special insulating material, nor that of any particular material for the sleeves 5 nor do I restrict the application to anyone form or style of protector, as the invention will serve for a variety of lforms and styles of such; nor yet do I limit myself to the specific forms of coupling shown in this specification, as the mere form or shape can be indefinitely varied to suit the requirements of any given line.

lVhat I do claim as my invention is 1. In a coupling for sections of undergroundtelegraph lines, two sleeves of metal having coupling-liangcs and suitable means of connecting' them together, said sleeves inclosing the ends of the sections, substantially as described, whereby the flanges serve to connect the sections and the sleeves to stiften the line.

2. The coupling consisting oftwo perforated blocks of insulating' substance, having corresponding grooves 011 their adjacent faces, in combination with suitable means of forcing them together.

3. The coupling' consistingot'two perforated blocks of insulating' material, suitable means of forcing them together, and the grooved conducting-strips i, substantially as set forth.

4. The coupling consistingoftwoblocks,B B', of insulating material perforated for the passage of the wires, and the sleeves C C', shouldering against said blocks, and provided with suitable means ot' being' forced together.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I. have hereunto set my hand.

THOMAS J. l\le'llIGlll l.

Witnesses:

Trios. GoNNoLLv, JOHN lll. PA'r'rEnsoN. 

